Change Agent Training in Behavior Analytic Procedures for People with Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

This paper reports a meta-analysis to evaluate procedures to train change agents in discrete trial teaching, preference assessment, and mand training. Behavioral skills training packages were the most commonly used and were consistently and highly effective in changing change agent behavior. Procedural variation in training overlapped in effectiveness. Training was slightly less effective for parents than for staff and university students. The effect size for the behavior of the individuals with whom the change agents applied behavioral procedures was slightly smaller than for change agents and was reported in only about one third of papers. Behavioral skills training is a highly effective and robust approach to delivering change agent training for different skills training procedures.

Keywords

Notes

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Maya Madzharova, Theresa Fiani, Christina Alaimo, and Samantha Dalfen for all of your help with IOA calculations and article screening and coding.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Conflict of Interest

The first author declares that she has no conflict of interest related to this article. The second author declares that he received speaking and consulting fees related to behavioral skill training which might represent a conflict of interest related to this article.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

References

References marked with an asterisk indicate studies included in the meta-analysis. The in-text citations to studies selected for meta-analysis are not preceded by asterisks

Tien, K. (2008). Effectiveness of the picture exchange communication system as a functional communication intervention for individuals with autism spectrum disorders: a practice-based research synthesis. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 43, 61–76.Google Scholar